Just
some background--in the last 11 years, except for an incident of
congestive heart failure (2000) plus an aorta valve replacement
operation (2008) and being diagnosed with C.O.P.D and P.E.D., I consider
myself pretty independently healthy . Whereas I was going to doctors every 4-6 weeks I
made the decision 2 years ago that it wasn't necessary and , after
talking to my primary doctor, to see my specialists only during June and
July and only on Mondays and Tuesdays. I will talking about all that
more after I have finished this year of rounds. Basically I have been
healthy the past 10 months and as soon as I start going to the
specialists that all changes!!! And now on to this blog!
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2-3
weeks ago I started to have trouble with my left leg. After I had been
sitting awhile, whether on the Internet, reading a paper, driving, when I
got up it felt as if the leg was buckling under me for a very brief
time. There never was any pain so I sort of ignored it. Last Monday I
woke up with both feet swollen but the left bigger, red and very painful
on the top. After 2 days I couldn't take anymore and went to my primary
doctor who sent me to have an ultra-sound to make sure no blood clots,
had some blood tests done, he told me to double my diuretic medicine,
prescribed methylprednisolone and told me to come back the following
Wednesday and he was 99% sure it was gout.

No, not my feet but that is the way they look(ed).
I did some googling and wikipeding and the first thing I read was:  "Gout was historically known as "the disease of kings" or "rich man's disease. Dietary causes account for about 12% of gout, and include a strong association with the consumption of alcohol, fructose -sweetened drinks, meat, and seafood. Oddly enough I had found a new snack for my night-time hungers.

There
are 24 pops to a box and each pop has only 20 calories and 5 carbs. Oh
yes, the second ingredient listed is high fructose corn syrup! I had
finished 2 boxes before the pain hit and I had a few boxes previous to
the leg buckling. Guess I'll have to 'fess up to the doc but I just
can't equate Kool Pops with the disease of kings!!! Mmmmm--then there
was that 10 ounce burger at ROK:BGRG. Oh my.

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"When I was a young man, I observed that

nine out of ten things I did were failures.

I didn't want to be a failure, so I did

ten times more work."
George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950  Irish Dramatist, Writer and Critic